Refrigerator-latch.



H. BLYE.

REFRIGERATOR LATCH. APPLICATION FILED nmvxlflsn.

Patented Sept. 4, .1917.

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i HAROLD BLYE, F GRAND RAPEDS, MICHIGAN.

REFBIGERTOB-LATCH.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 4, 191'?.

Application filed May 17, 1917. Serial No.169,329.

To all whom z't may concern:

-Be it known that I, HAROLD BLYE, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, residing at Grand Rapids, in the county of Kent and State ofMichigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inRefrigerator-Latches; and I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

This invention relates to a latch for doors, and one which in practiceis especially adapted to be used with refrigerator doors. It isdesirable that arefrigeratorV door be provided with latch constructionby means of which the door, when closed, is held tightly, and one inwhich the opening of the door may be attained with the least amount oftrouble and eort. One of the objects and purposes of my invention is theattainment of this desired end. Another object and purpose of theinvention is the construction of the latch in such manner that on movingthe door toward its closed position the latch will act automatically todraw the door into tightly closed position. Many other objects andpurposes of the invention will be apparent as understanding of theinvention is had from the disclosure made thereof in the accompanyingdrawing in whichg.l

Figure 1 is a. front elevation showin the latch and the keeper thereforapplic respectively, to a door and door casing.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation showing the latch eigaged with the keeper,thel door being c ose Fig. 3 is a fragmentary vertical section to takensubstantially on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1

with the latch occupying its closed position, and

Fig. 4 is a similar view illustrating the latch handle in anotherposition from that shown in Fig. 3 when the door is open.

the latch is applied to the door 1 thereof while the keeper is appliedto the casing 2. In construction the latch comprlses a substantiallycylindrical hollow housing 3 integral with which is an outwardlyextendin plate 4 through which screws/5 or other suitable attachingdevices may be passed to attach the same to the door. Two spaced apartears 6 project from the outer end of the housing between whicha handle 7is pivotally mounted on the pivot pin upon 8. A coil spring 9 undercompression is located within the housing and disposed between twoplates 10 and 11 the former of which bears against the door while thelatter is pressed outwardly by spring 9, being retained fromdisplacement from the housing by the annular inturned shoulder 12adjacent the outer end thereof. A roller or ball 13 is located within arecess 14 made in the end and' inner side of the handle, plate 11,

bearing thereagainst. In one osition of the handle, as shown in Fig. 3,t e pressure of the spring exerts a turning moment on the handle tendingto force the lower end thereof toward the door. In the other portion ofthe handle, as shown in Fig. 4, the line of force of the springtransmitted by the ball is substantially across the axis of the pin 8 orit lmay be moved slightly beyond whereby the lower end of the handle isheld in outer position.

An arm 15 is cast integral with the upper end of the handle extendingover the door and inwardly toward the casing and terminating in alaterally turned end 16. Said end 16 is adapted tovengage with a keeperwhich is attached to the casing, it comprising an outwardly extendingmember 17 integral with which is formed a laterally extending plate 18which is secured, by screws 90 19 or other suitable connections, to thecasing as shown. rlhe upper part of the part 17 is extended outwardly asindicated at 20 and is then bent back partly upon itself forming anoverhanging retaining lip 21. Below the part 20 is a projection 22having curved outline at its outer side whereby a substantially curvedslot 23 is made in the keeper through which the laterally projecting end16 of the arm 15 may move.

ln the closed position of the door the force of the spring exerted onthe handle causes the end 16 to engage tightly against the overhanginglip 21 of the keeper. lf it is desired to open the door all that isnecessary is to grasp the depending portion of the handle member andexert a pull thereon, whereupon the handle as a whole is turned aboutthe pivot 8 and the end 16 of arm 15 disengaged from the keeper andmoves through the curved slot 23. The pull exerted on the handle andtransmitted to the door has a tendency to open the door as the part 16disengages from the lip 21 but if the door should stick, said part 16strikes against the opposite side of the keeper and bears against theoutward projection 22 forcing the door open.v At the same time the ballor roller 14 moves across the plate 11 to substantially the positionshown in Fig. 4 the spring thereupon holding the handle in the otherposition to which it has been moved.

On closing the door, the handle occupying the position shown in Fig. 4,the end 16 strikes against the projection 22 and causes an inwardmovement of the depending portion of the handle until such time as theline of force of the spring has passed by the axis of the pivot 8, afterwhich the spring completes the inward movement of the depending portionof the handle and forces end 16 of arm 15 into engagement with theoverhanging lip 21 of the keeper. It will be noted that the only actionrequired in opening the door is to grasp the depending portion of thehandle and exert Va pull thereon; While in closing the door nothing isrequired but that the door be swung with a slight degree of force towardits closed position, the latch acting automatically `to engage with thekeeper and hold the door securely in closed position. The latch also isparticularly effective against any opening of the door from rthe insideas may occur when ice or the like falls against it, the inclination ofthe retaining lip 21 of the keeper with respect to the end 16 whichengages ltherewith being such that force applied on the inside of thedoor against the part 16 causes it to engage more strongly with the part21. All of these features in connection with especially simple andeconomical structure of the latch mechanism make the latch one ofparticular merit when used in connection with refrigerators.

I claim'z- 1. In a device of the character described, a housing, ahandle pivotally mounted on the housing, an arm on the handle, said armbeing provided with a laterally projecting end adapted to engage akeeper, a spring within the housing, a plate between the spring andhandle normallly forced toward the lever by the spring, and a rollerseated in a recess on the inner side of the lever and interposed betweenthe lever and plate, said roller being' so positioned with respectother.

to the handle that itv moves across the plate on outward movement of thehandle, the line of force of the spring passing across the pivotal axisof the handle, substantially as described.

2. In a device of the characterv described, a pivotally mounted handle,anarm projecting from one end of the handle, said arm having a laterallyextending keeper engaging end and spruig means associated with thehandlefor holding it in either of two extreme positions between which itis adapted to move, the line of force of the spring crossing the pivotalaxis of the handle as the handle moves from one position to the 3. In adevice of the character described, a housing, spaced ears projectingfrom the housing, a handle pivotally mounted between said ears, an armon the handle at the upper end thereof extending laterally and inwardlyand terminatingin a lateral keeper engaging end, and mechanism withinthe housing associated 4with the handle for holding it in either of twoextreme positions between which it is operable.

4. In a device of the character described, a pivotally mounted handle,an arm on the handle at one end thereof and adjacent the pivot, said armterminating in a laterally projecting end adapted to engage with akeeper, mechanism associated with the 'handle for holding it in eitherof two extreme positions between which it is operable, and a keeperhaving a slot into which said keeper engaging end of the arm is adaptedto enter to engage against the keeper and automatically throw the handlefrom one position to the other, simultaneously moving the keeperengaging portion of the handle into engagement with the keeper.

5. Incombination with a door, a housing secured to the door andprojecting therefrom, a handle pivotally mounted over the housing saidhandle at its upper end and its inner side being provided with a recess,a roller seated in the recess, a plate within the housing a springwithin the housing forcing the plate against the roller, a door casing,a keeper secured thereto, an arm having a keeper engaging portion on thehandle, said .keeper engaging portion engaging with the keeper when thedoor is in closed position but disengaging therefrom on outward pivotalmovement of the lower end handle, substantially as described. A

6. In combination, a door casing, a keepery having a slot thereinextending inwardly from the outer edge of the keeper and curvingupwardly and forwardly back of an overhanging lip on the keeper, a door,va latch comprising a housing attached to the door, a handle pivotallymounted on the housing, means within the housing assomamey@ l oneposition to the other whereby said kee er; engaging partl enters intothe Vslot of the keeper and. engages against said lip, sub- 10stantially as described.

Y In testimony whereof I ax my signature.

i HAROLD BME.

